Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine: Psychiatrists' and Other Physicians' Differing Observations, Interpretations, and Clinical Approaches
Objective: This study compared the ways in which psychiatrists and nonpsychiatrists interpret the relationship between religion spirituality and health and address religion spirituality issues in the clinical encounter. Method: The authors mailed a survey to a stratified random sample of 2,000 pract...
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Veröffentlicht in: | The American journal of psychiatry 2007-12, Vol.164 (12), p.1825-1831 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Objective:
This study compared the ways in which psychiatrists and nonpsychiatrists interpret the relationship between religion spirituality and health and address religion spirituality issues in the clinical encounter.
Method:
The authors mailed a survey to a stratified random sample of 2,000 practicing U.S. physicians, with an oversampling of psychiatrists. The authors asked the physicians about their beliefs and observations regarding the relationship between religion spirituality and patient health and about the ways in which they address religion spirituality in the clinical setting.
Results:
A total of 1,144 physicians completed the survey. Psychiatrists generally endorse positive influences of religion spirituality on health, but they are more likely than other physicians to note that religion spirituality sometimes causes negative emotions that lead to increased patient suffering (82% versus 44%). Compared to other physicians, psychiatrists are more likely to encounter religion spirituality issues in clinical settings (92% versus 74% report their patients sometimes or often mention religion spirituality issues), and they are more open to addressing religion spirituality issues with patients (93% versus 53% say that it is usually or always appropriate to inquire about religion spirituality).
Conclusions:
This study suggests that the vast majority of psychiatrists appreciate the importance of religion and or spirituality at least at a functional level. Compared to other physicians, psychiatrists also appear to be more comfortable, and have more experience, addressing religion spirituality concerns in the clinical setting. |
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ISSN: | 0002-953X 1535-7228 |
DOI: | 10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.06122088 |